{"id":106014,"date":"2024-07-01T13:46:38","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T19:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=106014"},"modified":"2024-07-02T21:12:27","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T03:12:27","slug":"behind-the-scenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/behind-the-scenes.html","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Scenes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Twenty-first century re-creations of the golden plates, the Liahona, the Urim and Thummim, the sword of Laban, and the breastplate, made by David A. Baird, who also created the plates used in the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s \u201cWitnesses\u201d film, which is now available on DVD and via streaming, as well as in the \u201cUndaunted\u201d docudrama and the associated short-feature videos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You might enjoy this seven-minute video: \u00a0\u201cBehind The Scenes | The Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 It provides background for Episode 5 of the video series \u201cA Marvelous Work\u201d: \u00a0\u201cWho Actually Saw the Gold Plates? | A Marvelous Work Episode 5\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

On a closely related note: \u00a0\u201cInterpreter Radio Show \u2014 June 23, 2024\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

For the 23 June 2024 episode of the Interpreter Radio Show, the hosts were Steve Densley and John Thompson. They discuss Come, Follow Me<\/em> Book of Mormon lesson 29 and, with Executive Producer and Director James Dalyrymple and Associate Producer Jonathan Farrell, \u201cWho Actually Saw the Gold Plates?,\u201d Episode 5 of A Marvelous Work<\/em> from Scripture Central.<\/p>\n

Having been edited to remove commercial breaks, their conversation is now available to you at your convenience and at no charge. \u00a0The \u201cBook of Mormon in Context\u201d portion of this show, for the Come, Follow Me<\/em> Book of Mormon lesson 29, will also be posted separately on Tuesday, July 9.<\/p>\n

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard each week on Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640. \u00a0Or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Paul Wuthrich as Joseph Smith,\u201d running through the woods and carrying the golden plates of the Book of Mormon under his arm, while trying to evade local money diggers who want to wrestle the plates from him. \u00a0(Still photograph from the set of the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s Witnesses film project, courtesy of James Jordan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*
** I\u2019ve just come across this criticism again. \u00a0So it\u2019s time, again, to post a response to it:<\/p>\n
** *Later estimates of the weight of the gold plates of the Book of Mormon (by those who had briefly held them, such as the official witness Martin Harris and the unofficial witness William Smith) put that weight at somewhere in the range of forty to sixty pounds.\u00a0 Some critics, accordingly, have contended that Joseph Smith could not have carried them for any significant distance, let alone run with them through the woods as he claimed to have done.\u00a0 The plates \u2014 if they actually existed and if they weighed as much as the witnesses say they did \u2014 were simply too heavy.\u00a0 Thus, these critics argue, at least that portion of his story must be fraudulent.<\/p>\n

With that argument in mind, I call your attention to a scene near the beginning of the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s 2021 film Witnesses<\/em> that depicts Joseph Smith, played by Paul Wuthrich (who was recently featured as Elder Seibold<\/a> in T. C. Christensen\u2019s highly successful movie Escape from Germany<\/em><\/a> and who reprises his role as Joseph Smith in the forthcoming Interpreter Foundation film Six Days in August<\/em>), being chased by money diggers while he\u2019s carrying the plates.<\/p>\n

I was not present on the outdoor \u201cset\u201d for that day\u2019s filming, but here\u2019s some background on the scene that is directly relevant to the critics\u2019 argument.\u00a0 It\u2019s based on communication with Russell Richins and James G. Jordan, who were, respectively, the producer and associate producer of Witnesses<\/em>:<\/p>\n

The metallurgist and experienced metalworker Dave Baird had created two prop sets of plates based on his own careful research.\u00a0 Somewhat amusingly, one set came to be called the \u201cnon-hero set.\u201d\u00a0 They weighed somewhere between thirty (30) and thirty-five (35) pounds.\u00a0 We\u2019re more certain of the weight of the other set \u2014 unsurprisingly labeled the \u201chero set\u201d \u2014 because Russell Richins weighed them himself.\u00a0 They came in at forty-five (45) pounds.\u00a0 In other words, at roughly the weight of the historical plates themselves.<\/p>\n

Filming \u201cJoseph Smith\u201d with the plates, and running from and interacting with the attackers, took a considerable amount of time. \u00a0Knowing that the scene would require several hours, Paul Wuthrich was presented with the option of going with something lighter as a prop.<\/p>\n

During the relevant filming day, the two sets were switched out at various times. \u00a0Sometimes the secondary or \u201cnon-hero\u201d prop was used, and sometimes the \u201chero set.\u201d But Paul often opted for the heavier set, knowing that he would run differently with the lighter set. \u00a0\u201cAt all times,\u201d comments Russell Richins, \u201cwhen you see Paul Wuthrich running or using the plates in the scenes, he is using one of these two sets. Bottom line, Paul was in very similar circumstances that Joseph Smith faced except for this one exception \u2013 \u2013 Paul Wuthrich did it over and over and over again throughout the day. \u00a0Yes, he was exhausted, but he did it. \u00a0A whole crew witnessed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who have not been involved with filming of this sort would, I think, be astonished at how many takes and re-takes need to be done for even relatively simple indoor scenes. \u00a0Paul Wuthrich ran down the hill repeatedly, carrying the plates, jumping over rocks and logs, trying to avoid low branches. \u00a0He did it many times, for different takes, so that filming could be done from a variety of angles and until the director and the cameramen felt that they had it \u201cright.\u201d \u00a0He had to run down the hill with the plates, then climb up the hill once more with the plates, then run down the hill, then climb up the hill again.<\/p>\n

I like Russell Richins\u2019s summary statement:<\/p>\n

"

Whether they want to accept it or not, people are going to have to face the fact that Joseph Smith, used to day labor and a very fit individual known for his strength, was fighting for his and the plates\u2019 safety, perhaps even his life. \u00a0Additionally, this claim would have been quite achievable for many young men of his time. Even Martin Harris lifted the plates, as did eight other rural Americans. \u00a0People must remember that Martin Harris was older, but a farmer used to working physically. \u00a0This was very common. \u00a0Another interesting tidbit is that Annie Passman, about 16 years of age and playing Joseph Smith\u2019s sister Katherine, lifted the hero, 45 pound, set of plates from the floor to the table throughout the entire day as we ran that scene many, many times while filming. \u00a0Was it tiring? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0Was it doable? \u00a0I think we have proven that clearly, in both cases.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And we\u2019re not even invoking supernatural or divine aid, which, if it was present, would surely alter the equation.<\/p>\n

Posted from Newport Beach, California<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 You might enjoy this seven-minute video: \u00a0\u201cBehind The Scenes | The Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.\u201d\u00a0 It provides background for Episode 5 of the video series \u201cA Marvelous Work\u201d: \u00a0\u201cWho Actually Saw the Gold Plates? | A Marvelous Work Episode 5\u201d On a closely related note: \u00a0\u201cInterpreter Radio Show \u2014 June 23, 2024\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":17751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[37755,56,316,319,1615,921],"class_list":["post-106014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-a-marvelous-work","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-gold-plates","tag-golden-plates","tag-plates","tag-witnesses"],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Scenes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  You might enjoy this seven-minute video: 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